ADOBADO, THE MAGIC OF SEEDS AND CHILLIES- Famous Guatemalan Dish
During your time in Antigua, you may have fallen in love with our famous Guatemalan food. It might have something to do with the wide variety of dishes, the comforting soups and stews and most of the sauces that result from the combination of traditional Latin American ingredients and everything brought to us from the old continent, like our most used spices.
One of the traditional dishes you need to add to your list of must-haves is adobado (adobo marinated). The word is used to describe a sauce, made out of sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, different kinds of chillies, our beloved tomatoes (which are included in most of our sauces, tomatillos (which we usually call miltomates) and achiote.
What is achiote? Achiote, also known as annatto, is a spice and colouring agent extracted from the seeds of the evergreen Bixa orellana shrub. The seeds are typically dried and ground into a powder or formed into a paste when added to ingredients such as vinegar, garlic, and salt which gives the dish a reddish colour.
What is it about the sauce? It can both marinade chicken or pork perfectly and it is so rich and tasteful it can be served as a sauce on top. The traditional dish we refer to as “adobado” is made with pork but there’s no reason why chicken cannot be included.
Don’t worry, even though this sauce includes two kinds of chillies, the result isn’t spicy and it is perfect for all members of the family.
Ingridients (Serves 4)
To prepare your very own adobado, the way you might find in a lot of restaurants and eateries in the markets, you will need:
3 pounds pork (cut into steaks)
1 ounce of pumpkin seeds
1 ounce sesame seeds
1 pound of onions
3 pounds of tomatoes
1/2 pound of green tomatoes, miltomates or tomatillos
1 red pepper
1 teaspoon of achiote
2 pasilla chiles and 2 guaque chiles
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of cumin
3 cloves
A pinch of cinnamon
a teaspoon of allspice
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Recipe
Toast the seeds (pumpkin and sesame) in a pan. When they are golden brown remove them from the heat. Then brown the tomatoes, the miltomates, the onions, the pepper and the chiles for five or six minutes in a pan.
Next, remove from the pan, (except the chiles), add to a pot of water, and cook them until the tomatoes are soft Then add the chiles and let them soak for a while.
Place in a blender with the achiote and vinegar and blend.
Then add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot. Heat the oil and brown the steaks. Once browned pour in the mixture from the blender and add the salt, pepper, allspice, oregano, cumin and a pinch of cinnamon and let it simmer until the sauce is smooth and has reduced. Then serve.
Written by Sofia Letona
Photo by Sofia Letona
Adobado Famous Guatemalan Dish
